Afghan-Iranian scholarly papers sought for conference

Afghanistan

April 6, 2009

The deadline for scholarly papers pertaining to Afghan and Iranian culture for “In the World, At Home: A Conference Commemorating 30 Years of Afghan and Iranian Diaspora Culture in the United States,” has been extended to May 31. The conference will be held Friday-Saturday, Oct. 23-24 at California State University, East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Blvd., Hayward.

Suggested topics are:

* Afghan and Iranian first generation narratives of revolution and war

* First generation narratives of migration, resettlement and secondary migration

* Navigating identity, culture and nationalism

* Women and gender roles

* U.S. media representations of Afghanistan and Iran and their diaspora communities

* Living in the aftermath of Sept. 11 in the U.S. and the “War on Terror” (race, religion, identity politics)

* Civic engagement and political discourse in the U.S.

* Youth culture and education

* Transnational dialogues between U.S. diaspora communities and Afghanistan/Iran

* Returning “home” second generation participation in Afghanistan and Iran

* Film, literature and the arts in the Afghan and Iranian diaspora

* Religious identity in the Afghan and Iranian diaspora

Papers can be from diverse disciplinary approaches and/or present the work of community organizations that are addressing some of these topics. Group panels are also encouraged. Abstracts no longer than 300 words should be sent in electronic format to soheila1@gmail.com, persis.karim@gmail.com and yasmatey@berkeley.edu

The conference will conclude a year-long series of lectures, discussions and exhibits that drew attention to the Bay Area’s Afghanis and Iranians, the two largest diaspora communities in the world. Programs included "Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul," at the San Francisco Asian Art Museum, and the upcoming "Literature and the Making of Ethnic Americans: Literary Expressions of Afghan and Iranian American Identity 30 Years On,” by Persis Karim from noon-1:30 p.m. April 8, and “Hyphenated Lives: Muslim Americas in the United States” by Soheila Amirsoleimani from 2-3:30 p.m. April 28, both at CSUEB.

The programs are presented in concert with a consortium comprised of the CSUEB College of Letters, Arts, and Social Sciences, San Francisco Asian Art Museum, the University of California at Berkeley, and San Jose State University. Information is at: http://class.csueastbay.edu/Global_Knowledge.php